


Mermen and Mistletoe

by robotsnchicks



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Awkward Flirting, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Co-workers, First Kiss, Fluff, Gift Exchange, Lonely Castiel, M/M, Mistletoe, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Castiel, Pining Castiel, Pining Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-11 23:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12946665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robotsnchicks/pseuds/robotsnchicks
Summary: When Cas draws his long-term crush's name for the office gift exchange, he is determined to find the perfect gift. Unfortunately his co-worker Meg has an unconventional suggestion.





	Mermen and Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Here's some holiday pining with a tiny sprinkling of crack.  
> Big thanks to [saltnhalo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltnhalo/pseuds/saltnhalo) and [GlitchedWings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitchedwings) for the beta work!

Castiel is entering the weekend’s shipping figures when his office door slams open, startling him into completely deleting one of his entries. He curses under his breath and looks up at the intruder. Meg walks in, sits in the chair across from his desk and sets a paper bag down. 

He frowns at it. “What's that?”

“Pick a name for Secret Santa. We’re having a party, 9pm at the Roadhouse next Saturday.”

Castiel picks up the bag. “That’s not very much warning.” He looks at the calendar on his desk and glares at Meg. “And Saturday is Christmas Eve.”

“Oops. So it is. Someone should complain to HR.”

Since Meg _is_ HR, he’s pretty sure she's being sarcastic.

“Besides, do you actually expect me to believe you have Christmas Eve plans?” she snarks.

Cas wants to protest, but he can’t. For the fourth year in a row, he plans on spending his holiday weekend alone. Although it sounds like he may not be the only one.

Meg leans forward and flicks a fingernail against the bag. “Hurry up and pick one so I can move along, Clarence.” 

He grimaces at her and sticks his fingers in the bag, picking up the first piece he touches. He unfolds the scrap of paper and is unable to suppress a small sigh.

Meg raises her brows.“What was that noise for, who’d you get?”

Cas reluctantly passes the piece of paper to her. 

Her eyes light up as she reads it. “You're kidding.” She passes the name back to him. “Aw, you get to buy your widdle crush a present.”

“Don't you have somewhere to be?” he deflects. He learned months ago that denying his crush on Dean only made things worse. 

“Luckily for you, I actually do.” She makes a note in the back of a notebook and stands up. “Check your email later for details about the party. I'm still figuring some of it out.”

Cas tucks the paper in his pocket. “Why don't we just have the party after Christmas or skip it?” 

“I would've thought an angel would have more Christmas spirit,” she teases.

Cas rolls his eyes. Meg finds the fact that he's named after an angel hilarious. “Goodbye, Meg.”

She saunters out of the room, throwing one last smirk over her shoulder.

After Meg leaves, Cas pulls the piece of paper back out of his pocket. He looks down at the name and groans. As if he needs one more reason to think about the head of their Parts and Development department. Dean Winchester isn’t only unfairly handsome, he’s also caring and kind. Cas had fallen for him quickly, and apparently quite obviously, if Meg was anything to go by. 

Cas spends the rest of his workday distracted. He finally gives up on getting anything done when he makes his third mistake in an hour. All he can think about is what he's going to do about the gift exchange. Castiel hates picking out gifts of any type, even for the people he's closest to. Somehow whatever he picks turns out to be inappropriate in some way. 

Maybe he can get some help. He pulls out his phone and types out a quick message to his sister, Anna. She’s the only one of his immediate family members that he still talks to and she's much more socially savvy than he is. She’s certainly been in this situation before.

He’s just stepping into his apartment when she calls back. He explains his dilemma while he shucks off his trench coat and boots.

“Well, how well do you know this person?” Anna asks when he finishes.

“Um.” Cas is unsure how to respond. He’s worked with Dean for close to a year now, and they have several conversations every week. He doesn't know if he has the right to call Dean his friend, though. The man seems to enjoy his company, but Cas worries that he may be misinterpreting things since he's filtering their interactions through the lens of his crush. 

“Cas? You still there?”

“Yes, sorry. He's just a coworker.” It's not true, Dean isn't just anything, but it's the simplest answer.

“Well in that case probably something kind of generic? If you don’t know somebody well, it’s best to stay with something safe. Maybe a calendar, or an ornament, or a bottle of wine?”

None of those sound like something he wants to give Dean but maybe that's good. He's been told many times that he comes off too intense and the last thing he wants to do is creep Dean out by giving too personal of a gift. “Alright, thank you for the suggestions, Anna.”

“Of course. You know, I'm glad you finally called me, Castiel. You never told me what you’re doing for the holidays. You're not staying home alone again are you?”

Castiel pinches the bridge of his nose. He remembers now why he hadn't returned Anna's last two calls. “I prefer to stay home, Anna. You know that.”

“Don’t you get lonely?”

“No,” he lies. The truth is, while he’d at first enjoyed spending his holidays alone and away from his judgmental family, over the years the loneliness has worn on him. 

“Well, if you change your mind, Charlie and I would be happy to have you. Gabe’s even supposed to stop by.”

For a moment, Castiel is tempted. His cousin Gabriel is the only other member of his family he misses, and he hasn’t seen him in years. “I’ll think about it.” The moment the words leave his mouth, though, he knows it’s a lie.

Anna sighs. “No. You won’t. I’ve gotta start on dinner now, but call me this weekend, okay?”

“I will.” This is a promise he can keep. Phone calls are easier. “Thank you again for the help, Anna.”

“Anytime. Bye.”

Cas hangs up the phone and makes himself a simple dinner. He places the leftovers in the fridge, next to the ones from the day before. He still hasn't gotten the hang of cooking for one.

❆❆❆

When Castiel gets to work the next day, he firmly pushes all thoughts of the gift exchange aside. He still has to finish the numbers from the weekend, and now the ones from yesterday as well. He’s doing well, poring through the figures quickly, when there’s a soft rap at his door.

He saves his file and reluctantly calls out, “Come in.”

Dean walks in through the door, holding two cups of coffee from the shop next door. “Hey Cas, you have a minute?”

Castiel turns to face Dean and tries to look welcoming. “Of course.” He realizes he’s still wearing his reading glasses and quickly takes them off.

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that, Cas. The sexy librarian look suits you.” Dean winks as he ignores the chair and perches on the corner of Cas’ desk instead. 

Cas looks down, focusing on folding his glasses and putting them in their case. He never knows how to react when Dean makes statements like that. From what he’s seen the man is an incorrigible flirt, so Cas knows not to take it seriously, but he can’t help the blush and thrill of pleasure that bolts through him whenever Dean throws such words at him.

He turns his attention to the coffee, hoping it will serve as a distraction. “You must have a long night planned if you need two of those.”

Dean blinks and then laughs. “Funny.” When Cas just frowns he clears his throat. “Uh, it’s for you, man.” 

Cas frowns at the cup. “I didn’t order anything.” 

“No, I just-” Dean sets the cup down on the desk and rubs the back of his neck. “Jesus, Cas, you don’t make this easy.”

He says it low and under his breath and Castiel wonders if he’s meant to respond. He flushes, unsure what Dean means.

Dean quickly brightens back up. “I know, I just thought you could maybe use a pick-me-up. You’ve been in here with the door shut all day, didn’t even see you take lunch.”

“Oh, you’re right. Thank you.” Cas finally picks the coffee cup up and offers an awkward smile. He wonders if there will ever come a day when he does not feel like a bumbling idiot around Dean.

“So you're going to the Christmas party, right?” A spot of foam clings to Dean's lip when he sets his coffee down.

Cas struggles to look elsewhere, but his eyes are drawn to the spot again and again. He finally pulls a napkin from his desk drawer and passes it over. “Here, you need to wipe your mouth.”

Dean flinches slightly and accepts the napkin, quickly scrubbing his face. “Sorry.”

“It's fine. And yes, I will be attending the party. I'd never survive Meg if I skipped it.”

Dean chuckles. “Yeah, she can be a little scary.” He takes another drink of his coffee, wiping his mouth after. “I've noticed you two talking a bit. Are you two, ah, a thing?”

It takes Cas a moment to parse Dean's meaning. “Oh, no. I'm gay.” That's not exactly accurate, but he's found it's best to simplify in some cases. 

“Awesome!”

Cas frowns but before he can say anything Dean continues.

“I meant, cool. I'm bisexual myself, so yeah.” Dean smiles but even with his poor understanding of social cues, Cas can tell it is strained.

Cas stares at Dean, uncertain what he should say in return. “That's cool,” he finally parrots back.

An uncomfortable silence stretches between them. Cas sips at his drink, pleasantly surprised to find that it's the cinnamon holiday drink he's recently become fond of.

Dean finally stands up and finishes his coffee, tossing it in Cas’ trash can.

“Well, I'm going to go bang my head against a wall. See you later, Cas.” Dean nods and walks towards the door.

Cas is used to not understanding colloquialisms so he ignores the first sentence. “Goodbye Dean. Thank you for the coffee.”

Dean pauses at the door but doesn't say anything. Instead he just looks at Cas.

Cas squirms under the scrutiny, wondering if he's the one with something on his face now. Before he can ask, though, Dean slips out the door.

Cas takes his time finishing the drink. When he's done he finds he is oddly reluctant to throw it away.

❆❆❆

It seems like every day finds Dean in his office. He'll show up with some simple work-related question that could have been easily answered over the phone. After Castiel answers it, though, Dean sticks around.

Now, every time Cas hears a knock at his door, he's filled with equal parts of anticipation and dread. The more time he spends with Dean, the farther he falls. The man is smart, caring, and patient. Cas has no idea why he seems determined to befriend him. From what he's seen, Dean has no lack of friends. 

One benefit of their increased conversations is that Cas has more material to work with when it comes to Dean's gift. He opens up the notebook he'd written ideas down in.

On one side he'd written Anna's suggestions. On the other he'd written things Dean had mentioned liking. He's hoping he can somehow combine the two categories.

A knock at his door causes him to close the notebook. He clears his throat. “Come in.”

As is usual now, it's Dean. He's carrying a stack of what looks like DVDs. He sets them on Cas’ desk and assumes his usual position on the corner. 

Cas looks at the spread of movies on his desk and frowns. “What are these for?”

“ _These_ , are all movies that I've referenced without you realizing it. I think it's time we corrected that.”

Cas picks one up at random and reads the title. “Splash?”

Dean grins. “Yeah, man, Daryl Hannah as a mermaid.”

Cas lifts his brows and Dean blushes.

“Okay, but it's still a classic movie. You've gotta watch it at some point.” Dean picks another movie up from the pile. “Here though. Maybe Daryl Hannah isn't gonna do it for you, but what about Clint Eastwood?” He passes the movie to Cas. 

Cas looks at it in interest. He's heard of _A Fistful of Dollars_ before, of course, but he knows little about it. 

“If it wasn't for Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford I might not have realized I was bi so easily,” Dean jokes.

Cas looks at the cover more closely. He can't help but be intrigued by what type of man Dean finds attractive. A scruffy looking man glares off into the distance on the cover. “I don't find him particularly attractive,” he admits after some scrutiny.

Dean barks out a laugh.“That squint you're doing right there? Totally reminds me of him.”

Cas looks up in surprise. It's times like these that he misses his best friend Balthazar. He'd definitely know if that was a flirtation. 

Dean clears his throat. “So anyway, I was wondering if any of those looked good.”

Cas holds onto _A Fistful of Dollars_ and selects the first Indiana Jones movie as well. He might as well torture himself with glimpses of both of Dean's ideal men. “I'd like to start with these two if that's alright.”

Dean's smile is like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. “Awesome! Good choices. So I was thinking maybe you could, uh...” he pauses.

Cas wonders if Dean's already regretting lending them out. Cas has lost a few favorite books that way over the years, so he understands. “Don't worry, I'll watch them this weekend and be sure to return them to you on Monday.”

Dean visibly deflates at that and Cas is left wondering why. He once again curses his complete and utter lack of social skills.

Dean's expression morphs to confusion. “Wait a minute, we’ve got the party on Saturday, and aren't you seeing family or something on Sunday?”

Cas flushes and turns away, embarrassed. This is why it’s so difficult for him to make friends. He lets things slip that make other people uncomfortable. “No, I prefer to spend my holidays alone. It’s not a big deal, Dean.”

“You sure? Why don’t you come have dinner with us at Bobby’s on Sunday? It’s just gonna be me, Bobby, Ellen and Jo. My brother’s spending Christmas in California with his girlfriend’s family, so otherwise I’d be all alone too.”

Dean looks at him with compassion and Castiel wants to melt into the floor. He does not want Dean to pity him. “That’s very kind of you to offer, but no thank you.” His voice comes out stiffer than he’d like, but there’s little he can do about it in hindsight.

Dean looks at him and nods, gathering up the DVDs scattered on the desk. “No problem, I’ll let you get back to work now.”

Cas searches for something to say, not wanting to end the conversation on this note. “Thank you for the films Dean. I’ll return them to you promptly.”

Dean stops at the door and meets his eyes. “It’s okay, Cas. Take as long as you need.”

Castiel has the niggling suspicion that Dean isn’t talking about just the movies.

❆❆❆

When Cas gets to work on Friday he’s a nervous wreck. The party is the next evening and he still doesn’t have a gift for Dean. Their growing closeness has led him to believe that a more personal gift might not be unwelcome after all, but he’s having doubts again. If Dean is just being nice to him out of pity, trying to help a lonely, awkward coworker out, then a personal gift might be unwelcome.

Either way, he doesn’t feel quite up to facing Dean today. He finishes up the report he’s in the middle of and then shuts his computer down. He’ll work the rest of the day from home instead.

He’s only been home for half an hour when his phone rings. He frowns when he sees that it’s Singer’s Custom Parts calling. He can’t imagine what Bobby or Meg need him for. “Hello?”

“Hey! Cas?”

“Yes. Dean?” Castiel is completely flummoxed. He has no idea why Dean would be calling him. Parts issues normally go through Jo before they get to Castiel. 

“Yeah, it’s me. You doing okay? I stopped by with some lunch for us but your office was locked. I asked Meg if everything was okay, but she said she wasn’t sure and suggested I call you.”

Castiel closes his eyes and focuses on remaining calm. “Meg is well aware that I simply wanted to work from home for the rest of my day. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Oh.” The word hangs for a moment. “Well, uh, sorry for bugging you then. I’ve just never seen you take a day off before. I was worried.” 

Cas smiles even though Dean isn’t there to see it. “Maybe I just only take off on the days you’re off too.” He’s not sure where he’s found the courage to tease Dean. It must be a side effect of the warm glow he felt when Dean said he was worried.

Dean laughs for real now. “That’s the thing man, neither of us take off. I was gonna say I've got one over on ya now, but I guess if you're just working from home it doesn't count.”

Cas hears a scuffle and then some muffled voices in the background. “Dean?”

“Sorry, Meg’s back and kicking me out of her office. Next time I guess I'll have to put your number in my phone directly so we can skip the middleman. In fact, do you mind if I just add it into my phone now?”

Cas can hear Meg complaining in the background but it's faint over the sound of his own blood rushing in his ears. He realizes Dean is probably still waiting for an answer. “Yes, I mean no. I don't mind.”

“Great! I'll call you later, Cas!” 

He’s saved from fumbling a reply when Dean hangs up.

Cas looks at the phone in his hand. He's not sure exactly what just happened, but he's more certain than ever that Dean Winchester will be the end of him.

❆❆❆

Once he finishes with work for the day he heads to the mall to look for a gift. He's hoping that something in one of the many stores will catch his eye.

He considers a number of items but discards them. He's feeling more confident again about getting Dean a gift he will actually like. A star wars calendar or bottle of whiskey seems too mundane of a gift now. 

He looks at a scarf the color of Dean's eyes but quickly puts it back. It's soft and seems warm, but it also seems like the type of gift that could definitely cross the line into too personal. He looks at a matching pair of gloves, but decides against them as well. Dean has wonderful hands and it would be a shame to cover them up.

When he enters the lone bookstore in the mall he feels a sense of peace. It's busy with the holiday so close, but this is more Cas’ element. He feels at ease amongst the smells of paper and wood polish, and confident that he will find an acceptable gift here.

He and Dean have talked about their favorite books and authors at length. After much debate he narrows his choices down to two books that he'd recommended and Dean had been interested in. He puts one back when he realizes he can just lend his own copy to Dean. 

He's carrying _The Stars My Destination_ to the register when a display catches his eye. It's for a book called _The Physics of Star Wars_ and after a quick read of the back cover, Cas is almost certain Dean would enjoy it. 

Still, he really wants to know what Dean thinks of the other book. He carries the two of them to the counter. They're both about space, he'll wrap them together and just give them both to Dean. 

Cas leaves the bookstore with a spring in his step. He's happy with his choices and actually looking forward to the Christmas party. 

As he heads toward the exit, he remembers that he'll need wrapping paper. He enters a small Christmas decorations store, hoping they sell some.

He's deciding between gold paper with jumping green reindeer or a silvery snowflake design when someone flicks the back of his neck. He stiffens and turns around, surprised to see Meg behind him.

“What’s up, handsome?” She’s holding a roll of wrapping paper under her arm that she sets in the display.

“I need some wrapping paper.” He frowns when she adjusts the display. “What are you doing?”

She winks. “This is my cousin’s store. I’m covering her break.” She looks at the paper in his hands and raises her brows. “Since when do you have people to wrap gifts for?”

It’s rude and blunt, but it’s one of the reasons Cas puts up with Meg. She doesn’t sugarcoat things or tell him things she doesn’t actually feel. “It’s for the gift exchange.”

“Oooh, you mean it’s for Dean?” She flutters her eyelashes and taps a finger against the reindeer paper. “I’d go with this one then, it’ll match his eyes.”

He grimaces at her but heeds her advice. The green reindeer are what caught his attention anyway. “Well thank you Meg, I’ll just check out and get out of your way then.”

“Hold up,” she stops him with a hand on his arm, and points to the bag hanging from it. “That your gift right there? Tell you what, forget buying a roll of paper. I’ll just wrap it for you. What I’m supposed to be doing here anyway.”

Cas hesitates but nods, placing the paper back in the rack and following her to a small gift wrapping station near the front of the store. He passes the bag to her.

She clucks her tongue at him as she removes the books from the bag one at a time. “Boring, nerdy _and_ boring. Really, Clarence?” The paper with his ideas falls out as well and she picks it up. “Aw, you were trying so hard to pick something good out, too.”

He stiffens under her mocking gaze. “I can just wrap these at home.” 

Meg waves him off though. “I said I’d wrap them, but looking at your list, I think I have something better. Follow me.”

She leads him down a narrow row of increasingly kitschy ornaments before reaching out, and pulling one free and handing it to him. 

He looks at her in disbelief. “It’s ghastly.” The ornament is one of the most confusing things Castiel has ever seen. It’s a merman. A merman wearing a cowboy hat and an open shirt, revealing his painted six pack. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh I agree with you, it’s hideous, but neither of us like cowboys, do we?” When Cas still looks unconvinced she continues. “Look, it's a gag gift. You can either go with your super boring and nerdy book choice, or you can make him laugh. And just look at all these.” She sweeps her hand out and Cas notices that they have dozens of the merman ornaments in all types of professions and designs. “They’re one of our best sellers.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good choice.” He hands it back to Meg and she shrugs.

“That’s fine. I just thought I’d try to help you out a bit. I guarantee this would put a smile on his face.”

Cas watches her put it back. He’s torn. It seems like a truly terrible present, but Anna did suggest an ornament and Meg’s right, Dean definitely likes cowboys. He also mentioned liking the mermaid in _Splash_. Since Dean is bisexual, is it reasonable to assume he likes mermen as well? 

Cas looks at the ornament once more and grimaces. Just because Dean likes those things individually doesn’t mean all those things go well together, but Cas has been told he has terrible taste time and time again. He sighs and picks the ornament back up. “You honestly think he’ll like it, Meg?” 

Her eyes sparkle as she takes it from him. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face. C’mon, I’ll even give you my discount.”

Meg rings him up and wraps the gaudy ornament for him. He goes to return the books he’d purchased earlier, but the store is so busy now that he decides to wait. He can take care of it after the holiday.

His doubts about the gift continue to circle his mind after he gets home. Every time Cas passes by, the light catches the shiny ribbon and winks at him. It almost feels like the expertly wrapped gift is mocking him from his coffee table. By the end of the night, he’s completely second-guessing his choice. 

He sits down and picks the gift up, trying to remember exactly what the ornament looks like. It couldn’t be quite as ridiculous as he remembers, could it? He’s tempted to sneak a peek to refresh his memory, but he’s loathe to undo Meg’s work. Since she wrapped it for him he didn’t bother buying any paper or bows anyway. He finally places it in his bag, where he won’t have to see it.

❆❆❆

The next day passes surprisingly quickly and soon Cas is pulling on his trench coat and preparing to leave. At the last minute he suffers another wave of indecision. He grabs the books he bought Dean and wraps them in newspaper, slapping masking tape over the shoddy job. He slips them in his bag next to the ornament, putting the decision off a little longer.

When Cas arrives, the party is in full swing. He waves to his coworkers and wanders over to the table piled with gifts. When he looks at the array of festively wrapped presents the choice is obvious. He lays the merman ornament on the table and hopes for the best.

Dean makes his way towards him, but Cas heads in the other direction. He's too nervous to talk to Dean right now. He passes his coat and bag to Ellen to put behind the bar and grabs a glass of eggnog. It does little to bolster his courage and he ducks to the bathroom every time Dean tries to catch his eye. 

By the time they all settle down at the tables for the exchange an hour later, Cas is not only regretting his gift choice but his entire presence at the event.

Most of the presents are quite generic and Cas counts two bottles of alcohol and one calendar so far, supporting Anna's advice. There are a few funny gifts as well, such as the devil-horned coffee mug that Ash gives to Meg. Everyone seems to enjoy the gag gifts, and when Cas passes his gift down to Dean he's feeling slightly better.

Dean grins at him as he takes the present. “Aw, I can't believe you're my secret Santa, Cas. Fancy wrap job too.”

Cas chuckles awkwardly. “Ah, that was Meg.” 

Dean tears the paper off and grins as he opens the unmarked box.

Cas can tell exactly when Dean sees what's inside because his face immediately falls into disappointment before he plasters on a smile.

“Well come on now, what is it?” Bobby asks.

Dean takes the ornament out of the box and holds it up for all to see. Laughter immediately breaks out as everyone clamours to get a better look at it.

“Oh my god he even looks a bit like you!” Jo hoots as she grabs it out of Dean's hands.

The gift seems to be a hit with everyone else, but Cas can’t get that look of disappointment out of his head. He excuses himself from the table and goes to the bar, grabbing another glass of eggnog. He turns to Ellen hopefully. “Any chance you could add an extra shot in this for me?”

“It’s already plenty strong, pal.” She looks at him for a minute but seems to accurately read his mood as she goes ahead and tips another portion of bourbon in. “Just this once and don’t tell anyone. Bobby didn’t pay for top-offs.” 

Cas takes large gulps of the drink, enjoying the way it spreads heat through his body. He finishes it quickly and then slips behind the bar, fishing his coat and bag out from below the counter.

He heads out, wandering around the parking lot and enjoying the quiet. When the warmth from the alcohol begins to wear off, he makes his way to his car. He searches his pockets for his keys and curses. They must be somewhere inside.

Not quite ready to head back inside and face Dean's disappointment, he Instead hoists himself onto his car's hood and leans back. The chill of the metal quickly cuts through his jacket, but barely detracts from his enjoyment of the night sky.

He tenses when he hears footsteps crunching across the gravel. As they near his car, Cas is chagrined to realize he recognizes their cadence. He sits up when they stop.

“I've been looking for you everywhere, man.” Dean sits down on the hood next to him without asking, confident in a way Cas knows he'll never be.

“I needed some air.” Cas barely resists the urge to lean into Dean's warmth.

They sit in silence, breath fogging in the increasingly cold air. Dean nudges him with his shoulder. “I’ve gotta say, I didn’t take you for the gag gift type.”

Cas sighs, any hope of ignoring his blunder gone. “I’m sorry, Dean. I’m terrible at this type of thing. I originally bought you something else, but I took some unfortunate advice and changed my mind.” 

“No, no, it was funny. I just…” Dean trails off. “You know, you took off before you got your gift, Cas.”

Cas blinks at the abrupt change of subject. “It’s fine. I doubt it’s anything I’ll actually use.”

Dean pulls an envelope out of his pocket and pretends to pout. “You could really hurt your Secret Santa talking like that.”

Cas turns and frowns at Dean. “ _You’re_ my Secret Santa?” 

Dean rubs the back of his neck and grins sheepishly. “I may have bribed Meg for the honor. When I saw that you were mine as well, I thought we’d had the same idea. That, uh, you know, maybe you had something specific you wanted to give to me.”

Cas opens his mouth in surprise, but before he can say anything Dean continues talking.

“Stupid, I know, but that’s why I was a little surprised-”

“Disappointed.” Cas can’t help but correct. He’s still wrapping his head around the fact that Dean specifically asked to be his Secret Santa and was hoping Cas had done the same. 

“Okay, fine.” Dean nods. “I was a little disappointed when I opened it. But it wasn’t a bad gift, it was funny.” He smiles at Cas warmly. 

“It was a terrible gift,” Cas contradicts. The gentle smile on Dean’s face lends him a bit of confidence. Cas pulls his bag into his lap and fishes out the messily wrapped presents still inside. “How about we start over?”

Dean’s eyebrows shoot up. “You held onto the first gift?”

Cas smiles wryly. “I still hadn’t decided which to give you when I arrived here.” He passes the gifts over and thrills when their hands touch. “Sorry about the wrapping job.”

Dean turns it over in his hands with a grin. “No way, this is exactly what I was expecting.” He looks up and smirks at Cas. “I knew there was no way a guy that can’t even get his tie on right could do that other wrap job.”

Cas flushes as he looks down and sees that, as usual, his tie is twisted around. He attempts to straighten it out while Dean tears off the newspaper.

There's no trace of disappointment in Dean's expression this time. “Dude, these both look awesome.”

Relief flows through Cas as they chat about the books. For once his intuition was right. Dean seems genuinely pleased by his choices.

When there's a lull in the conversation Dean passes the envelope in his lap to Cas. “So uh, there's no obligation here or anything.”

Cas slides his finger under the flap, curious to see what could require such a warning. Two tickets for the local botanical gardens fall out.

“There’s this special honey bee exhibit right now. They've got it set up so you can see the bees in their, uh, winter cluster?” 

Cas nods in confirmation. He's never seen Dean nervous like this before and it's utterly charming.

“So yeah I thought maybe, if you wanted to, we could go check it out sometime.”

Cas feels almost effervescent. “I'd be delighted.”

Dean turns the full brilliance of his smile on Cas. “Awesome!” 

They share a sappy smile but it's quickly interrupted by the sound of Dean's stomach growling.

“Shit, sorry.” Dean rubs his midsection bashfully. “Do you feel like grabbing something to eat?”

Cas shakes his head as he checks the time. “It's almost midnight on Christmas Eve. I’m pretty sure nothing’s open.”

Dean smiles. “Denny’s is always open. C’mon, don’t some pancakes sound good right about now?”

To Cas’ surprise, pancakes really do sound amazing. Or maybe it’s the company. “Alright. I left my keys inside though, so I need to find them first.”

They walk back to The Roadhouse side by side, close but not touching. Ellen hands him his keys when he approaches the bar. They must have fallen out while he was looking for his bag and coat. 

Dean insists on grabbing his terrible gift, despite Cas’ protests. Jo reluctantly hands the merman over, removing him from her wine glass stem.

They drive to Denny's separately. As Cas follows the big black car down the hazy street he marvels at how the night is turning out. 

They’re waiting for their food when Dean reaches into his pocket and pulls out something in crinkly cellophane. “Hey, you know I actually bought something else for you too.” 

Cas peers across the table. “Is that?”

“Yup. Mistletoe.” He takes it out of the package -- it's crushed and wilted. “I tried to hang this up in front of your office a week ago but Meg nixed it.”

Cas can see her point. While he'd have enjoyed the chance to steal a kiss from Dean, he'd have been pretty uncomfortable if he'd run into anyone else.

“Anyway, I brought it tonight, figured I'd try again but you disappeared on me before I could use it.”

So far Dean has laid a lot on the line, while Cas has mainly listened. He picks up the mistletoe, stroking the damaged leaves. “Dean?”

“Yes Cas?” Dean’s voice is low and intimate.

Cas nods to the clock above the hostess station. “It's midnight. Merry Christmas, Dean.” 

Dean's lunging across the table before Cas is even able to get the mistletoe all the way above his head.

The kiss is nothing like Cas imagined when he let himself think on such things. It isn't electric or desperate or aggressive. It doesn't feel like the earth is moving or he's going to explode. Instead, it's soft and comforting. Warm and coaxing. And full of the caution of two people who are desperate to do things right. Cas thinks he likes this type of kiss more.

“I've got two Grand Slams for you boys.” The waitress smiles at them kindly as they spring away from each other. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” they both murmur as she sets the plates in front of them. When she walks away they lean forward simultaneously, exchanging one more tentative kiss. 

When they sit back they both have syrup stains on their shirts.

One Year Later

Cas adds mini marshmallows to the tray of hot chocolate mugs, making sure not to overfill them. He then walks them out to the living room, careful not to spill on their new rug.

Gabriel immediately grabs a mug, using no such caution, and Cas grits his teeth when the hot liquid threatens to splash over the side. He passes the rest of the mugs out himself.

“Are you sure you boys don't wanna come over tomorrow?” Bobby asks as he accepts his mug from Cas.

“I really appreciate the offer, but Dean and I decided we'd like to spend it here in the new apartment.” 

He smiles when he hands the mug to Anna. “That's why we're glad you were all able to come over tonight.” He turns to the laptop where Sam and his girlfriend are visible on Skype. “Even if not in person.”

When he turns back to the couch he finds his sister-in-law passing a small gift bag to Dean.

“What's that?” Cas sets the tray down on the coffee table and curls into Dean’s side. 

“Just a little something I had Charlie pick up earlier.” Dean sets it on the table, exchanging it for a mug of cocoa. “Why don’t you open it and find out?” Dean’s eyes are mirthful over the rim of his mug.

Cas picks up the bag and looks at Charlie suspiciously, but she quickly hides her smile behind her wife’s shoulder. From the looks on everyone's faces, she's not the only one in on this.

He sighs and reaches into the gift bag, pulling out a small cardboard box. He opens it and looks up at Dean accusatorily. “Really?”

Dean reaches over and plucks the ornament out of the box. “Yup, I thought this could be our first holiday tradition.” 

“You mean there will be more of these?” Cas asks in disbelief.

The rest of the room laughs and even Sam's voice can be heard over the tinny speaker. 

Somehow this one is even worse than the one he bought Dean. This merman is also a cowboy, albeit with darker hair, but while the one he bought for Dean was wearing plaid, this one is in black leather. 

He narrows his eyes at Dean. “I think I did a better job choosing. There’s no way I’d ever wear something like this.” 

Dean leers and leans closer. “You sure about that, Cas? ‘Cause the rest of that present is waiting on the bed.”

“Okay, that's my cue to leave.” Anna sets down her mug and gives an exaggerated shudder. “I do not need to think about my baby brother dressed like that.”

Charlie reaches across the table and picks up the ornament. “You know, they even had one of these that was a wedding couple.”

To Cas’ great horror, Dean perks right up at that. “Oh yeah?”

Cas resigns himself to a life full of bare-chested mermen. It seems a fair trade for his newfound happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this silly bit of Christmas fluff! I'd just finished my pinefest (posting in March, yay!) when I wrote this, so pining was obviously still on my mind! Feel free to come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://robotsnchicks.tumblr.com/%22). I'd love to meet you.
> 
> Happy Holidays!


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